The Ellsworth American - County Genealogical Society Celebrates 20 Years

County Genealogical Society Celebrates 20 Years

Thursday, November 23, 2006

ELLSWORTH — On Saturday, Nov. 18, the Hancock County Genealogical Society celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Patsy Jordan was named one of the first recipients of the Hancock County Genealogical Society Award for Genealogical and Family History Excellence this past July. The Hancock County Genealogical Society is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

On Oct. 23, 1986, the first meeting of the newly organized Mount Desert Island Area Genealogical Society was held at the Maine Sea Coast Mission in Bar Harbor. Sheldon Goldthwait was elected president. Betty Boynton from the Hancock County Probate Office was on hand to explain researching wills and other records housed at the Courthouse. Over the years, the organization evolved into the Hancock County Genealogical Society.

The HCGS holds monthly meetings at the Ellsworth Public Library and an annual fair in July. All are events are free and open to the public. Over the years, the society has worked on projects such as the family group sheet collection, which is held at the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor and more recently much work has been done on cataloging cemeteries in Hancock County and making the information available at the Ellsworth Library.

In July, the society was pleased to announce the creation of the “Hancock County Genealogical Society Award for Genealogical and Family History Excellence.”

Mark Honey and Patsy Jordan were named the first recipients of this award. Both are well known, both in Hancock County and across the state for their work in local history and genealogy. Mark’s work on local history and genealogy can be found at the Ellsworth Library and also offers talks on various subjects of our local history several times a year. Patsy, known for her genealogy-filled camper, has information on many of the early families in Hancock County and has offered support to hundreds of people throughout her genealogical career.

The society currently boasts members about 100 members from 19 states and Australia.

Membership is $10 per calendar year and includes a bi-monthly newsletter.

For more information on the HCGS or Saturday’s event, please contact Patti Leland, president, at 276-5305 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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